Iran Writes Protest Letter to UN High Commissionaire for Human Rights

"Stressing the Islamic Republic of Iran's interaction strategy in different issues and its logical and constructive talks, I underline that the path chosen by the special rapporteur completely contradicts his responsibility as a neutral, professional and independent rapporteur," Larijani said in his letter to Pillay on Saturday.

Pillay had on Thursday in a press conference on the sidelines of the Vienna nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) requested the western negotiating delegations to include human rights issue in Iran in their nuclear negotiations with Tehran in full details.

Larijani underscored that Iran expects Pillay to adopt the necessary measures to correct and review this "destructive and unconstructive" process.

Also on Friday, senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Abbas Araqchi rejected Pillay's demands, and cautioned the six world powers and international bodies not to try to include new issues in the negotiations.

"The human rights issue is fully unrelated to the nuclear talks, as everyone is well aware, and such a request will lead to nowhere," Araqchi stressed.

Araqchi added that he had only seen a headline about the UN High commissionaire for human rights (UNHCHR) comment on the matter and that he was not even fully aware whether she had said so or not, reiterating, "All I can say is that Pillay is a much respected personality on the international scene."

"She is an internationally renowned, experienced personality and I seriously doubt it that she would have been incapable of comprehending such a simple fact," the Iranian official added.

"All the sides of these negotiations, too, are fully aware of the fact that the human rights issue is totally unrelated to the matter of discussions in our ongoing nuclear talks," he pointed out.

In relevant remarks in March, Larijani lashed out at Ahmed Shaheed for his baseless allegations against Tehran, and said he could never verify hundreds of claims against Iran just during a three-day visit to the country.

“Ahmed Shaheed regularly complains why we do not allow him to come to Iran, while he has raised about 3,000 accusations against Iran from outside the country (without visiting Iran),” Larijani said in a press conference in Tehran at the time.

“His visit to Iran is not meant to be for verification purposes, but it is for propaganda; how does he want to study 3,000 allegations in just three days (of a trip),” he asked.

Also in January, Larijani blasted Shaheed for his support for the terrorist groups acting against Tehran, and said the UN rapporteur has turned into an actor providing service for the opposition media.

“Unfortunately, Ahmed Shaheed has become a media actor who acts for those media which air propaganda against the Islamic Republic, while this is against the approved protocols,” Larijani told FNA at the time.

“Ahmed Shaheed supports terrorism extensively,” he said, explaining that he has provided Iran with the name of four people claiming that they are due to be executed for their human rights activities.

“This is while these four individuals have been sentenced to death or other penalties for their membership in PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan), they have killed people and their houses had turned into place for storing weapons,” Larijani said.

“It is a shame for the human rights rapporteur to label terrorists as human rights advocates,” he underlined.

PJAK, a militant Kurdish separatist group with bases in the mountainous regions of Northern Iraq, has been carrying out numerous attacks in Western Iran, Southern Turkey and the Northeastern parts of Syria where Kurdish populations live.

The separatist group has been fighting to establish an autonomous state, or possibly a new world country, in the area after separating Kurdish regions from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

Iranian intelligence and security officials have repeatedly complained that Washington provides military support and logistical aids for such anti-Iran terrorist groups.